The One Year New Testament
November 10
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Acts 8:26-40
Acts 8:26-40
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Reflection
The disciple-making mission took another step forward when “Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35). In order for people to believe in Jesus, they must hear the good news about him. Our godly actions are a crucial part of our Christian responsibility, but our deeds are not able to save souls from sin and death. As Paul says in Romans 10:17, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word [the message] of Christ.”
Just as these early believers spread the message of Jesus Christ to others, we are also called to bring the life-saving news of Christ to those in our personal spheres of influence. We should pray that God would lead us into opportunities to show the love of Christ to others through our actions and speak the gospel to them with our words.
1 John 5:13-21
1 John 5:13-21
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
Reflection
John brings his letter to a close, clearly announcing his purpose. The letter is written so that those who genuinely believe might have full assurance of the “eternal life” they have in Jesus Christ (1 John 5:13). This confidence in eternal life should manifest itself in a daily confidence in our relationship with God here and now. This confidence should produce a life of prayer that is “according to [God’s] will” (cf. 3:22) for us (5:14–15) and for others (vv. 16–17). It should produce a trust for spiritual protection (vv. 18–19) and a daily fellowship with God and in Christ (v. 20) that turns us from all false gods (v. 21).
Psalm 118:7-9
Psalm 118:7-9
7 The Lord is on my side as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
Thoughts For Prayer
Because of the certainty of the eternal life secured for us by Jesus, Christians do not need to live in fear of being rejected by God —he is on our side. If you are trusting in Jesus, you can pray to God with confidence that he loves you, hears your requests, and answers with great eagerness and perfect wisdom.
Missions Prayer Requests More
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May 30, 2025
Supported Workers: Bobby & Julie in Central Asia
Countries:
Praise God and pray for their Christian community who are loving and helping one another. Pray that God will raise up many there who are willing to serve, especially in preaching, teaching, and sharing the good news. Pray for Ruth and for the other interns and short-term teams coming this summer to learn and serve with them.
The Bahamas (Caribbean). Population: 415,223 Believers: 35.9%. Christian commitment is low and nominalism widespread, despite nearly all Bahamians claiming to be Christian. Most households own a Bible; few actively read it. Pray for revival and for a missionary vision among believers. Bahrain (Asia). Population: 1,498,712 Believers: 2.9%. Bahrain enjoys greater freedoms than almost all Gulf countries and therefore is spiritually strategic. Praise God for the local believers! Some worship with the various established churches, and others gather in more informal networks. Pray especially for unity and cooperation among these groups, as a testimony to their fellow Arabs. From Operation World DVD-ROM 2010 and www.operationworld.org
The One Year New Testament Copyright Tyndale House Publishers, used by Permission. NIV Bible copyright International Bible Society.